"In Flames" - Film Review
There’s something undeniably thrilling about the way the horror genre can open doors to exploring the realities of daily life. What is a ghost if not the manifestation of some lingering emotion or fear? In Flames is rooted firmly in present-day Karachi, Pakistan, and provides an intimate look at a family that is reeling from the loss of their patriarch. Mariam (Ramesha Nawal) is twenty-five, unmarried, and still living at home with her younger brother (Jibran Khan) and mother (Bakhtawar Mazhar) as she finishes her studies. The passing of Mariam’s grandfather has left them with debts they cannot pay. Seemingly out of the goodness of his heart, Uncle Nasir (Adnan Shah) offers to pay for everything, but Mariam can tell he has ulterior motives.
courtesy of Falco Ink.
The horror of In Flames comes from the societal expectations that exist in a fundamentalist culture. While driving, Mariam is attacked at random by a man on the street who throws a brick through her car window because he doesn’t believe she should be driving. Whether or not Mariam or the audience agrees with that man’s actions, it’s in this world that Mariam (and potentially some of the audience) must find a way to survive. In Flames’ terror doesn’t come from an unnamed demon hiding around a corner; it’s in plain sight in the world Mariam and her mother see every day. How does one process trauma, grief, and hope in a world that’s set up to take advantage of people earnestly looking for help?
The heartbeat of In Flames is Nawal as Mariam. She turns in the sort of quiet, subtle performance that worms its way into your heart before absolutely obliterating it. The beginning of the film sees her meeting and becoming smitten with a classmate’s cousin (Omar Javaid). Her cautious, optimistic smile as he calls her for the first time is infectious. Then, when the film turns darker, Nawal has the audience so perfectly wrapped around her finger that we’re forced to exist in these moments with her. We feel the heat of the flames as though we’re standing with Mariam.
courtesy of Falco Ink.
In Flames is packaged as a psychological thriller. While technically true, this will likely make people think of fare like Se7ven or You Were Never Really Here, where brutal violence is on full display. That’s not the case with In Flames. While there are some moments of blood and violence and an unknown entity stalks the characters for part of the runtime, that’s not where the unease comes from. Rather, it’s the urgent desperation that comes from Mariam and her mother, from seeing the lengths they must go to keep their life in balance. It didn’t take much to disrupt their way of life, but now they must move mountains to find equilibrium again. Their story and its series of events are reality for millions of people across the globe.
“Some scars never heal. You just learn to live with them,” Mariam says. Ghosts and scars are alike in this way. There are some things we must learn to live with, to find a means of existing in spite of things that hurt us. Such is the story of In Flames.
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